Jose plays down disappointing start

Jose Mourinho refused to panic after Chelsea suffered a shock home defeat to Basel in their opening Champions League match last week. The Chelsea manager came under plenty of criticism following the defeat to the Swiss club, a result that came on the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Everton the previous weekend.

But despite things not going exactly to plan since his much-hyped return to Stamford Bridge during the summer, Mourinho has played down the importance his side’s early season form will have on how the club finish the year.

“I accept critics and for sure I’ll agree with some and disagree with others. But the first thing I have to say is we’ve lost nothing and I’m not worried,” insisted Mourinho in the aftermath of the Basel defeat.

“It’s not the way you start the season but the way you finish. You want to start good and finish good. But it’s better to start bad and finish well, rather than start well and finish bad.”

While the Blues’ recent woes were offset slightly by last weekend’s 2-0 win against Fulham, there is no denying the fact that a fairytale ending to Mourinho’s first season back in charge of the club may not be as achievable as many expected when the Special One returned to the Premier League during the summer.

And there wouldn’t be a shortage of people delighted to see Mourinho’s return to the club spectacularly backfire on all concerned.

But despite the media frenzy surrounding Chelsea’s recent defeats to Everton and Basel, results that surprised the odds on betfair, Mourinho is right to highlight the fact that there is plenty of time for this Chelsea squad to gel and begin playing the kind of winning football that the club played during Mourinho’s first spell at the club.